We’ve reached the point now where most social media teams working for various businesses have hit their stride. They understand what makes for engaging content, how to prep their editorial calendars in advance, and which analytics they need to track after their published content goes live.
Most have also worked out that don’t need to be everywhere on social - but then the question remains, are you missing out by not being on certain platforms, especially newer, trending apps which are on the rise?
According to the social media professionals I spoke to, the answer is yes. I sought feedback from a range of experts, and their advice is that brands may need to consider taking a second look at these three platforms in particular.
Each one offers an opportunity to uncover a new audience and share your brand’s message and expertise - consider these in your 2019 planning.
Quora
Quora describes itself as a place to share knowledge and better understand the world. Users can log into the platform, ask questions, and get answers from other users. Many of these users are experts on said topics, which can make their responses incredibly valuable.
Hung Nguyen, a marketing and customer satisfaction manager at free SaaS platform Smallpdf, has found that Quora has been surprisingly useful in his social marketing efforts. Nguyen notes that in the last year, Smallpdf’s profile on Quora has attracted over 90k answer views, at an average of almost 10k views each month - a significant amount of brand exposure for the business.
And while Quora may not draw in as much traffic as Facebook or Twitter, it is gaining momentum. The platform recently announced that it now sees 300 million unique visitors every month (for comparison, Twitter sees 335 million).
Nguyen explained:
“Quora leads the right users who need our service the most to our site. You get to showcase your wealth of knowledge in the industry that you operate in, which may give you a competitive edge, and could help persuade potential customers to convert.”
As Quora continues to grow, Nguyen says that it's worth businesses building a following there now, before it becomes the norm to use the site to generate traffic and leads.
“Regardless of the industry that you’re in, your products or services, or whether you’re B2C or B2B focused, this is not a social media site to miss out on.”
As I write this post, I’m in the middle of giving my company LinkedIn account a much-needed makeover, and I imagine there are many other businesses either going through the same process, or reading this post and realizing that they aren’t on LinkedIn. That platform is for posting and finding jobs, right?
Yes, and no. Laura M. Cummins, Owner of Nine Dotz Consulting, believes that people and businesses are missing out on great opportunities if they don't maintain active personal and professional LinkedIn pages.
The key to LinkedIn success according to Cummins? Don’t treat the site like it’s Facebook.
“This is a site for business to business, business to consumer, education, networking, and sharing resources.”
Meghan Kramer, Social Media Marketing Account Manager at ad agency MGH, advises following a new strategy for LinkedIn. Here, it’s key to pay attention to user intent.
“This is a niche group of people who are using social media to network professionally, rather than socially. B2B companies and those trying to reach professionals or people in a specific industry should consider advertising on LinkedIn.”
While Pinterest is not a new platform, the majority of social media professionals I spoke with advocated for businesses - regardless of what they’re offering - to get on to Pinterest.
Tiffany McEachern is a social media specialist at PSCU, a credit union service organization. The company she works for is in an industry at odds with aesthetically pleasing pins that get a lot of love, like cake recipes or wedding dresses, on Pinterest.
However, McEachern thinks there’s more than enough room for financial institutions on the site. So-called “boring” businesses have a chance to stand out if they refuse to play by the rules - they can use Pinterest to their advantage by thinking outside of the box with their pins and boards.
“A financial institution can benefit from being on Pinterest by posting financial literacy content, but they can also share home décor inspiration that relates back to their mortgage loans (looking up home décor to get ideas on how to decorate a new home) or even a personal loan (looking up ideas to renovate or redecorate their current spaces).”
Paul Koegel, CTO of Juicer.io, agrees:
“People search Pinterest to find solutions to their problems. If you create content around your business to solve these problems, you might find new customers.”
Don’t forget to make the most of your pins and boards. Use relevant, searchable keywords whenever possible, on everything from the name of your board to its description. “Many people don’t realize that Pinterest acts like a search engine, much like Google or Bing,” Koegel says, “Those who apply the proper techniques can be richly rewarded. For many businesses, Pinterest becomes their leading channel for website traffic.”
There are various social platforms, and with Facebook continually putting the squeeze on organic Page reach, its worth considering your other options. These are just three to keep in mind, but there are others too that may be worth another look.